Serial gas station robber nabbed in Plainfield

A man who walked into Plainfield's police headquarters to inquire about some traffic summonses he had received was recognized as a man police call "the gas station bandit" and arrested, police said today.

Police said Albert W. Smith, 39, with addresses in Edison and Plainfield, is believed to have robbed $20,000 from gas stations in Mercer, Burlington, Somerset and Middlesex counties.

Smith was arrested Tuesday when Plainfield Police Department employees matched his face with images of him captured on video during a robbery at Riggins Gas Station on Route 130 and Riverton Road in Cinnaminson on Aug. 16.

The video surveillance tape allegedly recorded Smith kicking open a door to an office at the Riggins station, where he was able to make off with $18,960 in cash, police said.

Smith was charged with a string of offenses, including burglary, conspiracy and theft, police said. Smith remains a suspect in thefts in Montgomery and Metuchen and may face additional charges, police said.

Smith is being held in the Burlington County Jail in lieu of $85,000 bail.